Spellbound
by soundedlikefootsteps
Summary: Um...Alexander Callaghan is about to start at National School of Spellbinding Technology of England.  Based on the lines of Harry Potter.  First shot at fanfic, please read & review.


Planning for Creative Writing

**Main character/protagonist –** Alex/Alexander (helper & defender of mankind) Callaghan

**Best friend/male –** Ethan (strong, firm) Miller

**Best friend/female –** Sofia (strength) Haskins

**Brother –**Jamie (he who supplants) Callaghan

In brackets – the meaning of the first name.

Prof. Mallard

Prof. Ross

Prof. Raleigh

Prof. Warrens

Prof. Bell

Prof. Russo

Words Used In Text

_Proteggere: _Italian word meaning 'protect' or 'guard us'.

_Cupertino: _patron saint of aviators.

_Aquinas:_ patron saint of academics.

_Basilissa: _patron saint of nursing mothers.

_Marinus: _patron saint of falsely accused people.

**Spellbound**

Alexander Callaghan was an unusual boy. He wasn't your ordinary ten-year-old, fifth-grade boy. Sure, he had parents, a brother, he went to school, he had friends, but there was just something strange about him; something that no-one could describe, not even Alexander. Since he was a young boy, Alexander could do things that no living thing could describe. For example, one day at school, his brother Jamie and his friends had been chasing him, and he, with no intention of doing so, had jumped on top of the school building, while only really wanting to get on top of the bin. His parents had been called up, and the principal had explained his misbehaviour to his mother, Anne, who had then said sorry _for _Alex, when he was sure he could have done it himself.

When he had arrived home that afternoon, he found a letter on the kitchen bench addressed to him. It said:

_**Mr Alexander Callaghan,**_

_**We at the National School of Spellbinding Technology of England (NSSTE) are pleased to tell you that you have been accepted into our school. Term starts on September the 1st, and you will be starting as a First Year. As a First Year, you will of course need to purchase books, a broomstick, wand, cauldron, and robes (see full list attached). We assure you that you will be able to find all of these things if you go to the nearest wizardry shop (your mother & father, as previous graduates of this school, will know where to go). Please send your answer back as soon as possible.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Professor Noah Tricity**_

_**(Headmaster, Order of Merlin First Class, Head of the Confederation of Wizards).**_

As Alex finished reading, he thought, 'This must be one of Jamie's little jokes. There is no such thing as magic. Well not that I know of anyway.' At that moment, Jamie came through the front door. Alex heard him put his schoolbag down with a loud 'bang' and Alex became aware that his brother was now standing next to him. "'Sup, Alex?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing…Unless having a fake letter of acceptance into a "spellbinding technology" school is your idea of a joke!" replied Alex.

"What do you mean?" cried Jamie, "If you're hinting that I had something to do with this, well then you're 100 wrong!"

"So…"said Alex, thinking for a moment, "If you are being completely honest that you had absolutely nothing to do with this, then is it real? I thought there was no such thing as magic?"

"Can I please have a look at the letter?" asked Jamie, completely disregarding his brother's questions.

Alex handed him the letter and watched as his older brother scanned the letter, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in shock. "Um, Alex, I think this is for real. Why didn't I get a letter?" asked Jamie, looking a little hurt.

Alex shrugged," I don't know, but funny stuff has been happening to me for a while now. Like the time when I went to take the light bulb out, and it started working again."

"Yeah I suppose, and nothing's ever happened to me. I wonder why?" Jamie thought out loud.

Alex didn't answer the question, only called over his shoulder as he walked away, "I'm going to ask mum about this!"

"Wait Alex, I'm coming with you!" called Jamie, as his brother walked away.

Alex ran up the stairs, Jamie hurrying along in his wake.

They found their mother sitting in her usual chair by the window in her bedroom, reading a book. When she heard the boys' footsteps on the floor, she looked up. "Hello boys, to what do I owe this honour?" she asked in a business-like way, regretting it almost at once as she saw the boys roll their eyes at her.

"Well," started Alex, "A letter came for me today. A letter from the National School of Spellbinding Technology of England. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about this."

A few minutes later, Alex and Jamie were lying on their beds thinking about what their mother had just told them. Alex ran it all through his head, for the third time. _So, the school has been there since 1843, and for a while, only pure-blood people were allowed in (Alex made a mental note to ask his mother what the difference between 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'dirty-blood' was. To him, everyone had the same blood) and that half- and dirty-blooded people were only accepted after Professor Tricity, the current Headmaster, had taken control of the reins. You took lessons with such names that he had never heard before: Transfiguration, Elixirs, Enchantments, Magical Plant Studies, Defensive Magic, and Technology & Data. They all (meaning the students) ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together in the Dining Hall. After breakfast, they went to lessons, then after lunch, they did more lessons. After dinner, they went to bed and were not allowed back out; otherwise they would get an automatic detention. No magic in corridors between classes (what rubbish, thought Alex, what if you found yourself in a troubled situation?), otherwise points will be deducted from your House. The caretaker, also a wizard, had the power to tell you off if you were trailing mud around the school, dripping water, or just for being too happy! Teachers gave __loads__ of homework, especially to First Years, as you have to pass your exams at the end of the year if you wished to proceed to Second Year. After you became a Second Year, you were allowed more privileges. For one, you were allowed to roam the grounds of the school during spare time (First Years are not allowed to do this, as teachers are afraid that they might get lost, hurt themselves, or try to duel each other without really knowing any magic at all). All of the boys (or girls) in your Year slept in the same dormitory as you, and if one of you wasn't there one night, then your classmates and friends had every right to tell on you, although most of the time they don't, because everyone knows that only enemies do that. The last thing that Alex's mother had told him was that you could be elected Head Boy or Girl in your Eighth and final Year. Prefects were elected when you proceeded to your Seventh Year. _

Alex finally finished thinking about this "magic" school, rolled over in his bed, and fell asleep.

Alex woke on the 1st of September to the sound of his mother yelling at him to get up. Alex yawned, rolled over, and put his pillow over his head to muffle the sounds of the yelling. A couple of minutes later, he felt Jamie whacking him over his back with what felt like a hard-back book. "Jamie! Go away!" came Alex's muffled voice from under his pillows.

"No way, little bro! You have to get up now! It's your first day at your new school, you can't be late!" replied Jamie. Reluctantly, Alex got up out of bed, and a few minutes later, walked out the front door, butterflies forming in the pit of his stomach.

Alex arrived at the private air strip which belonged to the school fifteen minutes after leaving home. He saw that at least five hundred other students were passing their luggage through the scanner which was then passed into the cargo hold on the plane. Alex said goodbye to his mother, father, and Jamie.

"Have a good time at the school Alex!" Jamie had said, "Make sure you send me something!"

"Oh, don't worry, I will!" replied Alex.

Alex's nerves became more apparent as he boarded the plane, _alone._ He found his seat, and got comfortable, as he remembered what he had done the previous day with his family. The Callaghan family had gone to their nearest wizardry shop, and Alex bought all of his equipment, along with his wand. His wand was like something he had never seen before. According to the box that it came in, the wand was made of stainless-steel, with a titanium outer shell. Alex had always thought that wands would be made of wood, from the stories that he had read which were now coming true. The box had also said that the wand was voice activated, you had to set the password by saying into the speaker, and you had to make it something that no one else would ever think of. The package that came with the wand had said that they would learn how to do all of these things during their first lesson of Technology & Data. When Alex came out of his 'trance', as some may call it, he found someone looking down at him. The strange person sat down next to him, extended his hand towards Alex and said, "Hi, I'm Ethan. Ethan Miller."

Alex took Ethan's hand and said, "I'm Alexander Callaghan. You can call me Alex."

Soon, the two boys had been joined by someone else. This time, a girl called Sofia Haskins. She had seemed very modest, always quoting from books about witchcraft. Ethan and Alex had exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing, without exchanging words. Just after the plane took off, she had taken to telling them about their new school, and saying that in the history book that they had to purchase, which was very interesting by the way, that there were rooms which once you stepped in, the walls lit up, span and more doors appeared, making it harder for you to find your way out. The two boys soon learned to ignore Sofia and talk about things that they were interested in.

"So," recited Alex, "in our class called Elixirs, we learn how to make different potions and concoctions?"

"Yup. We can learn how to make steam come out of our ears if we really wanted to," replied Ethan, who had been explaining what they did in each class.

Alex's mother had pointedly told him that she had wanted to leave it a surprise for him once he arrived. Alex had begged her to tell him, but she had ignored his begging, kissed him on the cheek, and told him to 'run along' or else he would miss the plane.

Within half an hour, the plane had landed on the air strip attached to the school. The whole plane was buzzing with excitement and apprehension, mixed with nervousness and homesickness from the First Years, but just plain happiness from the school children who had been there before and couldn't wait to get back.

They all stepped off the plane, the First Years not having any idea where they were going, just following the crowd. As they rounded the corner, the school came into view. There was a collective gasp from the First Years as they saw, not lots of school buildings as Alex had attended, but a magnificent castle with turrets and large areas of green grass which they could relax on and do homework once they became Second Years. As they stepped inside, the new Head Boy and Girl holding open the large, heavy oak doors and welcoming everyone inside, the First Years saw that their luggage had been taken inside already, presumably by the teachers, using magic.

They had been told that as their acceptance forms had come back, saying that they could go to the school; their names had been put into four different Houses. Alex and Ethan, who were now friends, were hoping that their names had been sorted into the same House. The four Houses were Cupertino, Aquinas, Basilissa, and Marinus.

As the First Years, along with the rest of the school stepped into the dining hall, they saw that four long tables, side by side, and automatically assumed that while you ate, you sat with the rest of your House. They also saw that right at the front of the Dining Hall there was a table where the staff sat. Right in the middle was Professor Tricity.

"Could all the new students please line up in between the two middle tables and all old students take a seat at your House Tables," they heard Professor Tricity say, his voice magnified.

Alex and Ethan, with Sofia walking beside them, wandered up the middle of the two tables and lined up behind all of the students who had beaten them there.

"When I call out your name and house, could you please come forward, then take a seat at your specific table," said Professor Tricity.

Alex waited for his name to be called. They were being called alphabetically, and with Alex's last name starting with 'C', he thought that he shouldn't be far from the top.

"Alexander Callaghan, Aquinas," he heard, snapping back to reality.

As he walked to the front of the Hall, he felt all eyes on him as he took the stairs, older students applauding, one by one, to the front. He turned once he reached the top, smiled and waved, then shook the Headmaster's hand and wandered back down the steps and to the table which had a banner over the top of it, a blue one, and in silver writing, the word 'Aquinas'. There was also a picture of a wild, silver centaur as their symbol. He sat down, and watched as his classmates were allocated their houses. Sofia was also placed into Aquinas, much to Alex's displeasure. Ten minutes passed and then Alex heard the familiar name. "Ethan Miller, Aquinas." Alex cheered with the rest of the students, and gave Ethan a high-five as he took the seat next to Alex. As the last person, "Ella Zutra, Cupertino" was sorted, the Headmaster stood up, and all fell silent.

"Older students, you know what to do, new students, since you haven't activated your new wands, say the words 'I'm hungry' to your plate, and food will appear."

Alex, who thought that speaking to an inanimate object was quite bizarre, followed suit anyway, as he really was hungry. Almost at once, a luxury dinner appeared on his plate. The excited whispers form the First Years resounded throughout the Hall. Ethan, Alex, Sofia and the other Aquinas First Years ate their dinner, then followed the new Aquinas prefects up to their common room. The other three houses followed, with their prefects leading them to their new homes.

"Ok, First Years, you will find all off your luggage already in your dormitory. Boys dormitory's through the door on the right, girls the same on your left," said the new female prefect, Heather Sampini. The new First Years, full from dinner, trudged into their dormitories, found their beds and luggage, changed into their pyjamas and collapsed onto their beds. Without a word to each other, they all fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

The next morning, Alex woke to find himself in a dormitory with about six other boys. As he became more awake, he started to recall the previous day's events. He shook his head, thinking he was still dreaming. But when Ethan woke and told Alex that they had to get ready for breakfast did he start to realise that it was true.

Alex showered, dressed in his new school robes (black with a blue and silver centaur on it, which had been put on there last night by Professor Tricity, using his wand, as he stepped up to the front of the Dining Hall after he was sorted), then met Ethan in the Common Room, and they went down to breakfast together.

When they reached the Aquinas table, they found Sofia calling them over to sit next to her. They looked at each other, and reluctantly went to sit next to her.

"Here are your new timetables. We have Technology and Data first, we will learn how to activate our wands!" said Sofia in an excited voice as she handed the boys their timetables.

The boys and Sofia ate breakfast, and then hurried to their first class, Technology and Data. When they got there, they found their new teacher, Professor Mallard waiting for them and their fellow classmates.

"Please come inside and immediately take out your new wands," instructed Professor Mallard, as he led them into the class. Once the class had taken out their wands, Professor Mallard then instructed them to turn it on, using the switch on the side. Alex, along with everyone else in the room, flicked the switch. At once, an echoing, loud voice filled the room, "Welcome to 'Using Your New Wand for the First Time 101'. You need to set a voice password for your wand that no one else will know, except you. Please think of a password and then speak _clearly _into the microphone, at the bottom of the wand, and say your password."

Alex, who had spent his first day thinking of his password, already had one, it was 'Mulberry Elementary', his old primary school. After he said this into the microphone, it glowed yellow for a second, then returned to its original colour (kind of like the Catalyst Reaction that they did in Science, thought Alex). He looked at Ethan, who looked back at him, a puzzled look on his face. He whispered to Alex, "I don't know what I should put my password as."

Alex replied, "Well, don't ask me! Just make it your mum's name or something."

So, that is exactly what Ethan did.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur. In Elixirs, they learnt how to make a Happiness Potion with Professor Raleigh, and in Transfiguration, they learnt how to change an earring into a gold coin. In Magical Plant Studies, they learnt about a plant called Duboter, which gave off a foul smell when touched with a metal spoon, in Defensive Magic, they learnt of a Shield Charm, which would repel anything an opponent tried to send at you, and finally in their last lesson of the day, Enchantments, Professor Bell had taught them how to use their wands to conjure a cage to trap other things.

The next day, as they were walking back from Defensive Magic, their last lesson of the day, they had learnt of a Freezing Charm, to make a person or thing freeze. They had also learnt of a Heating Charm which would dry your clothes if they got wet, as if you had just put them in the dryer. Suddenly, Alex needed to go to the toilet. "Hey guys, I'll meet you back at the Common Room, okay? I need to go to the toilet." Ethan and Sofia shrugged, nodded, then walked off, heading towards the Aquinas Common Room.

Alex rounded the corner, heading towards the male toilets, when he heard voices. He realised that they were coming from a cupboard on the right hand side of the corridor. Alex walked towards the door, and listened in, eavesdropping on the unwary talkers.

"…He is coming to the castle tonight. He's going to destroy it, and many will be hurt."

"Are you sure that this is not just a threat? In any case, I will put extra security on the castle," Alex recognised this as Professor Tricity's voice. He did not recognise the other person's voice, nor did he know who they were talking about. At this point, Alex thought he had heard enough, and went to the bathroom. On his way out of the bathroom, he heard Professor Tricity's voice resound over the PA. "All students back to their Common Rooms at once, it's time to do your homework. All teachers to the staff room immediately."

Alex wandered back to his Common Room, thinking about what he had just heard, and told Ethan and Sofia what he had heard.

The next day, on their way to Magical Plants Studies, out in the grounds, they heard a loud noise. They covered their ears and walked towards where the noise came from, a door on the right hand side of the corridor. As they opened the door…

"Who's there?" asked a hissing voice.

"N-n-no one, we'll just be going, sorry to disturb you," stuttered Alex.

"Going? I think not…"

After they heard this, their mysterious companion came into view.

"Argh!!" screamed Alex, Ethan and Sofia in unison. The person, or rather alien-like form of a human came into view. It was an ugly, deformed human, with a squashed, pug-like face. He also appeared to be holding, instead of a titanium wand like the students, a gold wand. In the wizarding world, gold is known to be one of the most powerful substances that a wand can contain. He, whoever he was, rounded on them, nostrils flared, his bright, piercing yellow eyes wide.

"I, Morugo, am the greatest sorcerer in the world. He who dares to contradict me will find himself in mortal danger."

And, with that, he pointed his wand at them, muttered an incantation, and Alex, Ethan and Sofia found themselves having rocks shot at them, coming from the core of Morugo's wand. Sofia put up a shield, muttering the incantation _'Proteggere!'_, and a bright blue barrier came between them and Morugo. The rocks which were coming out of Morugo's wand immediately disappeared. The two boys activated their wands at this point, something which Sofia had done on their way there. Alex suddenly felt the urge to ask a question.

"I heard one of the teachers saying that you were going to come to the school a couple of nights ago. Were you too scared to come then or something?"

"How dare you think that I am intimidated by such a school as this? I could easily bring down the whole castle in less than a minute!" exclaimed Morugo.

After Alex had muttered his password into his wand, it had activated, and he had sent a jet of cold water at Morugo. Morugo faltered, but regained his composure at once.

"You amateur! All you can do to me is blast me with cold water! Well, I can do so much more to you!" taunted Morugo and sent what Sofia recognised as a Stunning Spell at them. But Sofia blocked it, and it ricocheted of the walls and hit Morugo. He collapsed to the ground with a deafening 'BANG!' and his wand fell out of his hand and rolled to Alex's feet. Alex kicked the wand and it landed with a 'thud' on the other side of the room.

"What is going on here?" they whirled around and saw Professor Tricity, along with all the other teachers looking from them to Morugo, eyes wide.

After Sofia explained what had happened, the Headmaster sent them back to their Common Room, with surprisingly no punishment, because they had saved the rest of the school, even though they could have gotten themselves killed in the process, as Professor Russo (the Magical Plant Studies teacher) had put it.

They were met at the entrance to the Common Room with applause from fellow students who were also in Aquinas.

"Well done!"

"You saved us all…."

"My parents would love you…"

They went to bed that night with smiles on their faces from all the happiness and excitement of the events.

The last day of term came surprisingly quick. As they were boarding the plane, Sofia said to Alex and Ethan, "Thankyou so much for letting me be your friend, I have never had any real friends before, you guys are my first. I have had so much fun with you guys this term, and I can't wait for the rest of the year to come. I am sure there will be more adventures like the one that we had this term."

Alex and Ethan, both a little embarrassed by her words, just said in unison, "You're welcome."

During the plane flight, they played games for the very little half an hour it took to get home.

As Alex stepped off the plane, he saw Jamie's face in the crowd of families, and ran over to meet him. Ethan and Sofia followed, wanting to meet Alex family.

"Mum! Dad! Jamie!" cried Alex as he enveloped them all into a group hug.

"Are these your new friends, Alex?" his mother asked inquiringly as she peered at the two strangers.

"Yeah! This is Ethan Miller, and Sofia Haskins. Ethan, Sofia this is my family."

They all shook hands, and then Ethan and Sofia went to get their families, and dragged them over to where Alex's family was. They were all introduced to each other, and then it was time to go home.

"See you later guys! You'll have to come visit sometime these holidays, okay? I'll send you a letter," Alex said to his new friends.

"Yeah, that would be fun," replied Ethan and Sofia in unison.

They waved goodbye to each other until they could no longer see each other through the mass of people.

'_I'm glad I went to that school," thought Alex as he walked to his family's car, and remembered the last day of term at the feast. Everyone had said goodbye to each other there, some crying although the new term started in two weeks. 'What weird people,' he thought, 'I sure am going to miss Ethan and Sofia, with only Jamie to play his practical jokes on me.'_

Alex hopped in the car, and the Callaghan family drove off into the sunset, with a very content Alex in the back, trying to think of what Ethan, Sofia and he should do when they came over, and of the last golden day that he had spent with them.

(A/N: By hooked-on-harry -written for an English Project after reading 'The Giver')


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